Portrait of Domenico Bertini

Matteo Civitali is considered one of the most important Tuscan marble sculptor working outside of Florence in the 15th century. His training and early years are undocumented, but he was probably trained in Antonio Rossellino's (1427/8–1479) workshop in Florence. His greatest patron was Domenico Bertini (c. 1417–1506), a Lucchese humanist and statesman. The marble portrait of Bertini is housed in the San Martino Cathedral in Lucca on the tomb of the Lucchese humanist. The Museum purchased the plaster cast of the bust in 1907. Probably lost during World War II, the current whereabouts of the artwork are unknown.